After All These Years
by Angeline
Summary: [REVISED] Lily was.. unpopular, least to say during her Hogwarts years. She meets up w the Marauders one year after graduation - Lily has totally changed, physically AND mentally... will James fall for her? Not your average LJ story - Review!
1. Ah, Mr Potter… We Meet Again

**A/N**: Oh, my god. I cannot believe this story has been here since 2001. I wrote that stuff when I was… 11! Now I've _heavily_ revised it, but most of the same plot is still there. My writing has greatly improved (I hope!) and I hope you enjoy. Please remember to review, I love feedback of any kind – criticism, flames, or praise… I take it all! :) Now… on with the story!

**Disclaimer**: Obviously, I don't own Harry Potter, why bother put one here in the first place?

**After All These Years**

_Chapter One – Ah, Mr. Potter… We Meet Again._

            "Lily! WAKE UP!" 20-year-old Arabella Figg bellowed into her best friend, Lily Evans' ear. 

           Lily stirred a bit in her sleep, but to Arabella's disappointment, she just started to snore again… and quite loudly, too.

            "Oh god…" Arabella said, heaving a sigh and rubbing her temples in frustration. Not only was her roommate/best friend a lazy git, she was also a pig. 

            "This _definitely_ calls for drastic measures," Arabella murmured to herself. She got out her wand and magicked out a bucket of water. Arabella smiled and poured it on Lily. Still nothing.

            "God dammit, LILY!!" Arabella screamed in frustration, stamping her foot. 

            "Huh, wha--? Oh, hey, Bell…" Lily said sleepily. Her eyes were half closed, her red hair was in ringlets, and it was tousled and wet from the bucket of water. She had dried spit on the side of her mouth. It was not a very pretty sight when Lily Evans just woken up.

            "Did you know you are the biggest pig I have ever met?" Arabella asked, annoyed.

            "Yes, you remind me, what, 20 times a day?" Lily mumbled, dragging the covers over her head and turning over sleepily, mumbling, "Bell, sometimes you're worse than my own mother for god's sake."

            "Now get up before I get out my broom and whack you with it," Arabella said, whipping out her wand and preparing to summon it.

            Lily grinned. "Fine. But why am I all wet?" Lily asked, eyeing herself. Her black shorts and T-shirts were soaking with water.

            "I was trying to wake you up with a bucket of water, but it didn't work, did it?" Arabella replied, shooting Lily a glare.

            "Oh, use hot water next time," Lily yawned, then shot Arabella a knowing grin. "It works better."

            Arabella rolled her eyes and said through gritted teeth, "Gee, thanks, I'll keep that in mind for next time, which there better not be one."

            Every morning, something like this happened. Lily always overslept and Arabella had to think of ideas to wake her up, which, frankly, never quite worked. She and Lily had been best friends for a few years now. Both girls were reporters for the _Daily Prophet_ and that was basically how they met – through work. Arabella had attended Hogwarts, too, like Lily, but Arabella had been in Gryffindor, while Lily had been in Ravenclaw, and they never noticed each other.

            A sickly, pale green owl swooped down and tapped the window of Lily's room. She sleepily stood up to let the owl in, which was clutching a letter in its foot, and revived it with some water from her owl's cage. Lily sat down on her bed and read the letter to herself quietly.

            _Arabella- _

_            Darling! I haven't seen you in ages! I can't bear not seeing you! _(At this point, Lily snorted and Arabella shot Lily a glare.) _Meet me at Diagon Alley in the Leaky Cauldron today at __12 o'clock__, if you can. I'd love to have lunch with you. Oh, and James and Sirius want to come to. You know they love following me. Peter's busy visiting his mother, so he can't come. Reply soon!_

_            All my love,_

_            Remus_

            Lily groaned. It was Arabella's "Lover Boy" – Remus Lupin. He was part of a little group of pranksters called 'the Marauders'. They had been the most popular boys Hogwarts has ever seen. Girls fell to their feet. James Potter and Sirius Black were the leaders of this group. They pulled pranks on teachers and they were considered "every girl's dream of a man." 

            "Arabella!" Lily nagged, raising her eyebrows. "You have a letter from Lover Boy!"

            Arabella suddenly looked up and said, "Remus? Where? GIVE ME!" 

            Lily smiled and handed the letter over to Arabella and when she finished, she had a dreamy look on her face.

            "Aww...isn't Remus the sweetest?" Arabella sighed.

            "Yeah! He is, like, oh, so, like, HOT!" Lily said, twirling her hair, voice thick with sarcasm. "So you're going to lunch with Remus, then?

            "Shut up. You're ruining 'the moment'," Arabella snapped. Lily snorted with laughter. "And, **yes**, I plan to eat lunch with him today at noon at the Leaky Cauldron. Is there a problem with that, Miss Evans?"

            "Oh, _no_, Miss Figg – not at all, not at **all**!" Lily exclaimed. "I just thought that _we_ had plans for today's luncheon."

            "Oh, yes… that is right," Arabella muttered to herself. "You can come along if you'd like."

            "Ew, and watch you two do stuff you should be doing in a room?" Lily scoffed while looking disgusted. "I think I'll **pass**, dearest. Just leave me 100 galleons as a fine for breaking our luncheon date."

            "100 galleons?!" Arabella exclaimed. "I think **not**! Oh, just come! It's not like you have anything _better_ to do!"

            Lily looked at Arabella, trying to look hurt. "Bell," She said softly. "That **hurt**."

            "I was _joking_," Arabella rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you act like a 5 year old."

            "But I'm **20**!" Lily sang. "And I'll come with you, if you want. Just don't expect me to be a chaperone or whatever. Also, I don't have to make small talk with Lover Boy's guests, alright?"

            "Agreed," Arabella replied while penning a reply back to Remus. She made sure to take her time filling her signature with little hearts. She fastened it to the owl's leg and he flew off.

            "So, naturally, you want me to choose your outfit for you, don't you?" Lily asked, looking in the mirror and brushing her teeth.

            "Yes," Arabella grumbled. "You and your damned fashion sense."

            "What did you say?" Lily asked, cupping her ear for better listening. "I didn't like what I heard."

            "Yes," Arabella said in a forced tone. "I would love it if you picked out an outfit for me because you're so dreadfully wonderful, best friend."

            "Thank you," Lily replied simply, rinsing out her mouth now.

            "You are welcome," Arabella replied, walking into her closet. "Are you done yet, Lily? I need **help**!"

            "I'll be there in a moment, don't rush the master!" Lily yelled from her room.

            "What master? I don't see any!"

            "Shut up."

            "I will not."

            "Bloody hell."

            Arabella grinned.

            "Okay, let me go into your closet now," Lily said, walking in. The closets were designed pretty cool. It looked like a small room, but it actually could hold 200+ articles of clothing. Quite nifty.

            Lily started throwing various articles of clothing to Arabella, who tried them on one-by-one. Nothing in her closet seemed to work, so Lily went to hers and found some nice clothes. Finally, after what seemed like years, Arabella picked one.

            "I think I did a great job," Lily said, commenting to herself. She helped Arabella picked out the "plain-but-cute-and-sexy" outfit. Her long blonde curls were in a tight bun and she was wearing a lavender halter top, which showed off her purple irises, along with a white miniskirt which fell about a few inches above her knee cap, which were muggle clothes, borrowed from Lily.

            "So what are you wearing?" Arabella asked curiously.

            "Jeans, white shirt, hair up. You know, just – blah." Lily smiled. "That's me!"

            "Oh, that sounds **dreadful**," Arabella commented, looking pained. "Please, **look nice**, Lils!"

            "You know me," Lily replied. "Absobloodylutely fucking no. I'm too lazy."

            Arabella glared. "Please."

            "Alright, alright!" Lily replied. "I'll wear _something_ decent. Trust me on this, okay, Bell? I won't disappoint you."

            "Oh god," Arabella replied, laughing nervously. "Now I'm** definitely** worried."

            "One shan't be worried," Lily replied.

            "Fine, just be on time, okay? I'll Apparate there first. Meet you in the Leaky Cauldron, okay?" Arabella grinned and Lily nodded. Arabella apparated with a _Poof!_

Oh god, what was Lily going to wear? She finally decided on a pair of jeans and a white, knitted cardigan over a white tank top. _Perfect!_ She thought to herself. 

*****

            "Ah, Mr. Potter… we meet again!" Lily said in a  mysterious voice.

            "…" was James's reply. "Um, hi. Who are you?"

            Lily laughed. She had already Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron and so far, James Potter was there, saving the table for everyone. She loved that freaked out effect that she could give people. "I'm Lily Evans… Arabella's best mate and room mate."

            "Catchy," James commented. "Did you go to Hogwarts? I think I would've remembered such a beautiful face."

            "Why, as a matter of fact," Lily said. "I **did** go to Hogwarts."

            "You did?" James asked. "I don't remember dating you."

            "That's because you _didn't_ date me, genius," Lily replied dryly. James Potter was definitely getting on her nerves.

            "What? Huh?" James looked confused.

           "Look, I'm **Lily Evans**. I was **Head Girl** with you. We had the top grades. Ring a bell?" Lily said everything slowly, as if James was retarded or something.

            "Oh…" James said, realizing everything. "But Lily Evans was fa… Oh, I mean… um, you look so different!"

            "Thanks," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

            "Yo, James!" A voice behind Lily shouted. "We're all here, I found the lovebirds smooching behind Gringotts of all places! They really need a room!"

            James cracked up. "Gringotts? Damn, you two!"

            The owner of the voice walked up next to Lily. "Oh, and who do we have here?"

            "I'm Lily Evans," Lily replied, extending a hand. "Pleased to meet you…?"

            "Sirius Black," He supplied, taking Lily's hand and giving it a kiss. "And the pleasure's all mine."

            "Well, well, well," Another voice said. "Isn't Sirius being the gentleman today!" Remus and Arabella walked in, looking quite unruly.

            "Hey Lil," Arabella said, greeting her. "I've seen you've already met Sirius and James. Remember Lily, you guys?"

            "Yes, but I was quite shocked," James replied. "I still can't quite believe it."

            "Believe what? What? What happened?" Sirius said, bouncing around.

            "This girl was the Head Girl along with me as Head Boy, Padfoot," James explained to Sirius. "You know the fa… I mean, the… smart one."

            "Oh my gosh!" Sirius exclaimed. "**Are you serious**?"

            Lily laughed. "I haven't changed that much, have I? I'm still the same person… you two haven't changed much either. Still attracting the ladies, hm?"

            "You _could_ say that," Sirius said. "But Jamesy on the other hand…" Sirius shook his head and mouthed 'gay'.

            James socked Sirius in the arm. "I am not gay, thank you very much!" He yelled furiously. The whole bar stared at James.

            Sirius started laughing very hard while James looked utterly pissed off.

            Soon, everyone in the bar started paying attention on what was happening with _them_ and lost focus of James. "Thanks a **lot**, Sirius!" He grumbled.

            "You're welcome, dear," Sirius replied. "I love you, too!"

            "Damn," James exclaimed. "What is up with all the gay comments today?" He cracked a smile, indicating he wasn't really mad.

            "I don't know, I feel kind of gay today," Sirius announced.

            "Uh, okay, Sirius…" Remus replied, raising an eyebrow. "That's nice to know."

            "Feel free to holler, Remie," Sirius winked.

            "I'm **with** Arabella!" Remus exclaimed.

            … Sirius still winked back.

            "Anyways," James said, trying to change the subject before his best friend turns gay on him. "I've already pre-ordered everything, according to what Remus **told** me to order, so no worries."

            "That's a relief," Remus replied.

            "I agree," Sirius nodded. "When's the food going to come? I'm starving. I could eat all of you right now, I'm serious."

            "…Another nice thing to know about you, Sirius," James said, looking like he found out some horrible truth. "I'm just learning oh so much today!"

            "Anyways," Sirius said, narrowing his eyes at James. "What is up with you, Lily? What happened? You changed **so much**!"

            "Oh, well… as you mature, you change, I guess. I didn't do much. I guess it was because I was finally free of my horrible family – which consists of my Muggle sister, Petunia. My parents died when I was in 5th year, and Petunia had to look after me ever since," Lily sighed. "It was a horrible life living with her."

            "Oh, I'm sorry," Sirius replied. "Muggles just don't understand us wizards. Well, _some_ muggles." He added, not wanting to offend Lily.

            "Yeah, you've just changed so much…" James said in awe. "It's… weird."

            "James dear, stop gawking at poor Lily. If you want flies in your mouth, you're doing the right thing. If you want something to stare at, stare at me. I am, after all, oh so sexy," Sirius teased, motioning to himself. A tinge of pink colored in James' cheeks while he muttered something like 'shut up'.  Before James could kill him, Sirius changed the subject. "Anyways... have you heard? The Wimbourne Wasps totally sacked their beater, Ludo Bagman," Sirius said solemnly, as if something tragic just happened.

            "No way!" James exclaimed. "He was the bloody best beater ever!"

            "No he wasn't. Archie Davis was!" Remus argued.

            The three boys then got into a heated argument over who was the best beater.

            "Boys," Lily and Arabella muttered darkly while rolling their eyes. 

*****

A/N: So how was it? By the way, this is the **revised** Chapter One. I've improved the writing a LOT (in my point of view) but, yes. Hopefully by the end of this week, I'll revise the whole story and hopefully finish it in 2 chapters. :) Hope you enjoyed it, and please review!


	2. Confrontations and Trips

**After All These Years**

_Chapter Two – Confrontations and Trips_

            After lunch in the Leaky Cauldron, Arabella suggested that everyone go to Diagon Alley to just stroll through, or buy a few things, since they hadn't been there in ages. The boys agreed excitedly since they wanted to go to "Quality Quidditch Supplies". Lily got paired up with James and Sirius, since Arabella wanted to go with Remus. Alone.

            "Can we pretty please go to Quality Quidditch Supplies? I've been absolutely _dying_ to see the new broom – The Silver Arrow 5000," Sirius begged.       

            Lily smiled faintly. She usually liked Quidditch an immense amount, but just didn't feel like obsessing today. She barely spoke in the Quidditch debate in the Leaky Cauldron. She just felt tired and drained. She needed more sleep. Stupid Arabella bloody _woke her up_! Sirius led her and James into Quality Quidditch Supplies. The store was furnished with… well, quidditch supplies. Brooms, leather gloves, snitches, quaffles, beaters, bats, cleaning kits lined the numerous shelves. Lily must've lost track or time staring off into the Quidditch supplies, because Sirius ran back to her and James with a new purchase – the Silver Arrow 5000.

            "Wow! Look at the handle. Just _look_ at it! Have you ever seen anything cleaner or shinier?" Sirius asked, marveling and gaping at his new broomstick.         

            "I can't believe you just blew 400 galleons on that," James said, looking at Sirius in disbelief. "400 galleons down the toilet!"

            "I'm so sorry, _mother_," Sirius snorted.

            "It's okay, dear. You're grounded for two weeks, now give me the broom," James said, grinning his usual lopsided grin.

            "Damn," Sirius sighed. "You're just jealous because from now on, your arse is MINE when we play Quidditch!"

            "As if," James scoffed. "I could beat you with my eyes closed and hands tied around my back, Black."

            "Whoa, the end of that sentence rhymed," Lily commented. If you couldn't tell, Lily was random and the most random times.

            James laughed. "Random," He commented.

            "I know," Lily replied.

            Sirius stared. "Weird."

            "Come on, let's go find Remus and Arabella," Lily said, her cheeks turning slightly red. She definitely needed more sleep. She was such a dork, noticing the ends of other peoples' sentences.

            Sirius and James shot each other weird looks but followed Lily anyways. The threesome walked around Diagon Alley and finally bumped into Arabella and Remus who had just finished buying ice cream from Florean Fortescue's Ice-cream Parlor. Arabella was holding a massive cone, with a massive scoop of ice cream on it. Remus was holding the change.

           "Moony… nice!" Sirius sniggered, eyeing the cone. Obviously he thought Arabella and Remus were going to share it.

            "What? It's just an ice cream! Geeze!" Remus rolled his eyes but his cheeks were slightly flushed.

            "Suree…" Sirius winked. "So when's the wedding?"

            Arabella choked in laughter. "Wedding?"

            "We've been going out for like, a week," Remus rolled his eyes. 

            "Oh, Sirius! You're just jealous because you can't keep a steady girlfriend," Arabella said, rolling her eyes while licking her huge ice cream cone. "Mmm!" She squealed in delight. "This ice cream is delicious! Thanks Remus!" 

            "Your welcome," Remus answered, shoving the change into his pocket.

            "Well, what if I don't _want_ a steady girlfriend?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms.

            "Right. You just dump every girl you date because you're not looking for love, or anything. Just a fling," Arabella said lightly, rolling her eyes and licking her ice cream.

            "Bell, that was really _harsh_! If you want to talk to the real womanizer here, talk to the man next to me – James Potter. He's been with even more ladies than I ever have – or will," Sirius said, gesturing towards James.

            "James and that scrawny arse of his, a womanizer? Like back in the school days?" Lily snorted and laughed.

            "Hey, I don't have a scrawny arse!" James said indignantly while trying to look at his behind, but he failed miserably and looked like a dog chasing his tail. "Argh! I can't see it." James muttered a spell and summoned a mirror. He went in front of the mirror, looking smug. "Well, my arse is muscular and just perfect fine. In fact, I think it looks better than it ever was!"

            "What mirror are you looking in?" Sirius snorted with laughter.

            Everyone else sniggered while James looked irritated.

            "What is this, 'Insult-James-Day-and-make-him-pissed'?" James asked cynically. Sirius got out his little black book, which he mostly used for getting girls' phone numbers, and shrugged. "If you want me to, I will make it 'Insult-James-Day-and-make-him-pissed' today." Sirius grinned while Lily playfully hit his shoulder and Remus and Arabella was still sniggering.

            "You're just jealous because you don't have my fine arse," James said, crossing his arms, and admiring his bottom some more.

            Sirius rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "Sure, sure. Like _I'd_ need _your_ butt."

            They had reached the brick wall. As Remus and Arabella exchanged hugs and kisses, Sirius sniggered, and James smiled at Lily. She had changed so much since they had been Head Boy and Girl together, during their final year at Hogwarts. She never spoke to him much. She was always the "in-the-corner-studying-and-doing-homework-top-of-all-her-classes" girl. She was fat, ugly, loathed, friendless, a loser, unpopular, pimple-faced…but now she was… beautiful, to put it bluntly. But that wasn't it – she was more… open and talkative.

            "Well, I hope we can do this again soon," Lily said, smiling her dazzling smile at everyone. "I'm off shopping now in Muggle London. Want me to pick anything up for you, Bell?"

            Arabella waved her hand. "Nah, I'm fine! See you later!"

            _Pop!_ Lily apparated.

            "James," Sirius muttered while elbowing him hard in the ribs. His trance broke and he faced Sirius. 

            "What?" James growled angrily. That had **hurt**.

            "Let's go," Sirius said. His voice dropped to a whisper only James could hear. "I saw the way you were staring at Lily." Sirius nudged James.

            "What about the way I was staring at her?" James muttered back.

            "You're in love," Sirius said, sniggering. "I wonder when this day would come… my wittle baby all grown up, aw isn't dat sweet, int dat just suh-weet?"   

*****

            "Y'know Prongs, I saw the way you were looking at her," Sirius said, through chewing on his dinner, a Muggle burger with extra mayo, ketchup, tomato, barbecue sauce… basically extra-everything, his ultimate favorite.

            "I was _not_!" James replied indignantly.

            "I swear – it looked like you were in love with her of something," Sirius said, his mouth opened wide, chomping on his food.

            "Padfoot! Shut your mouth, I can see you're the ground up burger in your mouth! Bloody disgusting." James said in disgust. (

            Sirius swallowed and said, "I'm not the only one who eats like that." And coughed which oddly sounded like 'James Potter'.

            "Well, I don't love, or like her romantically. I was just really shocked. I mean, look how much she's changed. She was so ugly and fat and despised at Hogwarts, and look at her now! I mean, she's so… pretty," James said. "I bet she'd kill at the reunion." 

            Sirius and James knew that the reunion of Hogwarts was coming up in a month. It had been a few years since they graduated, and an old rich classmate of theirs invited everyone in their year to her house. Her name was Narcissa White, and of course, being James' ex-girlfriend, he was one of the very few people to be informed. Who wouldn't want the most popular guy and most wanted – well, ONE of the most wanted guys at your party who was ALSO your ex-boyfriend? Narcissa mainly wanted to show him what he had been missing.

            "Yeah, you're right. But, hell, I was shocked too, and she is really pretty, but you were totally drooling, it looked like you wanted to _eat_ her," Sirius replied, taking another bite of his burger, with his mouth closed while chewing this time. "Quite scary, if you think about it."

            "Was it that obvious?" James said thoughtfully.

            "Yes," Sirius said through his stuffed mouth. This time it was open and James was disgusted and heaved a sigh. "When's the wedding?"

*****

            "… did you see the way they were looking at me? I mean, they were gaping at me like I was some purple sloth with fangs sticking out of me or something," Lily said, shaking her head. She was ultimately tired from sleep deprivation and she just got home from shopping. Shopping can really take a load off your mind. Lily felt more rejuvenated than ever.

            Arabella laughed. "You are NOT a purple sloth – they were gaping at you, because… well, just look at you!"

            "What about me? I haven't changed that much, have I?" Lily asked, standing in front of the mirror.

            "Yes, you have! I've seen pictures of you in your Hogwarts days! They haven't seen you since the days in Hogwarts and you were the opposite of what you are now back then. Plus, Sirius and James were staring at you like there was no tomorrow." Arabella giggled.

            "Yes, well, being beautiful can be quite complicated sometimes," Lily said lightly, straightening her shirt and trying to keep a straight face. Failing miserably, she burst into laughter with Arabella as they rolled on her bed, gossiping about every detail about the Marauders.

*****

            "James! An owl's here for you!" Sirius yelled, while opening the window to let the barn-colored owl in. He swooped in as James entered the room. The letter clutched tightly in the talons of the owl fell lightly into James' hands and the owl perched on his shoulder. 

            "Good Apollo…" James said softly. He stroked his head. _What do Mum and Dad want?_ James wondered.

_            Dear James,_

_                        This is your father. Still remember me, eh, lad? Well, your mother and I were thinking, would you like to go to a trip to __France__? We just came back and thought it was absolutely splendid. The sights, the food – everything. And the price is really cheap too. 100 galleons per person. And you could take one of your friends. We'll pay for it, oh, and the trip's about a week long. Be sure to owl me back, laddie. ___

_                                    Your Father___

            'What the hell, this is so random! But on the contrary… hmm… would I like to go to France? It sounds fun, but whom should I bring? Sirius, of course, he's got nothing to do… Remus? Hm, then I'd have to bring Arabella. Oh bloody hell, she can come to, then Lily gets to come. Yay. Wait did I just say 'Yay'? Oh god, what in bloody hell is wrong with me?' James thought to himself.

            James got out a quill and parchment and started furiously started to scratching letters onto the parchment with the quill pen.

_            Dear Father,_

_                        This is your son. Still remember me, eh, pop? Haha. Well, I'd love to accept your offer. I was thinking on bringing Sirius, Remus, Arabella, and Lily? Arabella is Remus' girlfriend and Lily's her best friend. We're all good friends and we'd have loads of fun on this trip, especially with Sirius hanging around us. I'll owl you back when I get everyone's reply. Thanks so much for being nice. _

_                                    James_

            James sent the letter off with Apollo and got another piece of parchment and started to scribble letters on it. 

_            Dear Lily and Arabella,_

_                        My parents were asking me if I wanted to go to a trip to __France__, and I could bring friends of mine. Since you guys are my friends, would you like to go with me? I'll have to bring Remus – for Arabella's sake, and Sirius is coming along too. He's got nothing to do. We can get to know each other better, there's a lot of catching up we must do, eh? And maybe become closer friends. Send me back your answer with Apollo ASAP._

_                                    James___

            James checked over the parchment over, so spelling mistakes wouldn't embarrass him. He finally got a good copy and sent it off with Sirius' sickly, pale, green owl – Hooters. 

            He laid back in his chair. _France – here we come!_

*****

            "… so can you come?" James asked hopefully. He had just finished explaining about the whole trip.

            "Oh, James. I know you want me to come… but what about Moony's time-of-the-month?" Sirius asked, his voice dropping to a low mutter.

            "Oh, I forgot. Well, when's the full moon this month?" James asked.

            "Er… Tuesday," Sirius said.

            "Okay, we'll leave next Tuesday for two weeks, no problems?" James asked.

            Sirius grinned. "Yup! Now let's see if the redhead and blondie want to go."

  
*****

A/N: Hope you liked that chapter. I really liked it but now as I read over it, the whole France trip seems kind of rushed :/. Hmm, oh well :b


	3. ROAD TRIP well, not really

A/N: :) The edited version of Chapter 3… *drumroll*\

**After All These Years**

_Chapter __Three – ROAD__ TRIP!..well, not really.._

            "Hm, interesting…" Lily murmured to herself. She was just finished reading the letter that James had sent her and patting the sickly green owl with her hand. After one day of knowing James, he's asking for her and Arabella to go to France with him? How faintly queer.

            "What is?" Arabella said, raising an eyebrow while eyeing the green owl. "And what in bloody name is that **thing**?!" It was Sunday afternoon and Arabella was flipping through _Teen Witch_ magazine, searching for the newest, most fashionable robes and a few fashion accessories, the usual ritual.

            "Well, the Marauders want us to go to France with them. As in, on a trip," Lily said, handing Arabella the letter. Arabella put down her _Teen Witch_ magazine and took the letter from Lily.

            "Oh my gosh, this is so exciting! We have to go!" Arabella pleaded.

            Lily put a hand on her hip. "We just met them."

            "No! I've known Remus for about 5 months now!" Arabella wailed.

            "I've known Sirius and James for about a day now," Lily said, crossing her arms.           

            "No you haven't. They went to Hogwarts with us," Arabella pointed out. "That's about 7 years now. And they're really nice guys!"

            Lily glared. "Like they were nice to _me_ when we were back in Hogwarts? Oh sure they were nice to me _now_, since I've changed so much and all."

            "Well, yeah, but it's not like they're trying to hurt you, Lils," Arabella said. 

            "I know that! B – " Lily protested.

            "They're trying to be your friend!" Arabella interrupted.

            "Duh, everyone wants to be MY friend," Lily pointed out.

            Arabella snorted and then made puppy eyes. "Lily… please? I've only been going with Remus for, like, about a week and he's asking me to go to France with him? I'm totally crazy about him and I think he feels the same way. **Please** do this for me. I couldn't go on a trip with the Marauders without my best buddy by my side! Please, please, please?! And you **know** you have a thing for James, so let that be an extra plus!"

            "You know, I was _going_ to go but then the whole James threw me off," Lily replied irritably. "I don't have a **thing** for him. It's James Potter. Ew."

            Arabella coughed. "M'hm. Sure. Then it's Sirius?"

            Lily glared. "No."

            "Oh, come **on** Lils! Be adventurous – please? You know you want to go!" Arabella smiled.

            "Oh, I do want to go shopping in Paris…" Lily said, still unsure. "Okay, okay, Bell… if it means that much to you, I'll go."

            "Yay!" Arabella squealed happily and then covered Lily with hugs. "I LOVE you, Lily Evans!"

            "Oh, yes, yes," Lily chuckled. "I know that. But one more thing."

            "Oh my god," Arabella said. "You haven't changed your mind _that_ fast, have you?!"

            "No, I'm still set on yes but what about our jobs? Daily Prophet? You know how hard we worked to get those!" Lily frowned. "I don't want to risk **losing** it."

            "I don't either…" Arabella replied unsurely. She thought for a while until she got the answer.

            "Easy – we'll just ask for some days off. You know Shaun, our boss, he's nice about it," Arabella said simply. "Please, please, please, Lily? Do this for me… I hardly spent time with Remus!" 

            Lily rolled her eyes. Inside she was smiling. Two weeks in France, the most romantic city just about EVER? Maybe she'll find true love… Or maybe not. "Let me go write a note to Shaun first – just in case." Lily grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and wrote furiously on it, until she was finished. She sent it off with Daisy, Arabella's barn owl and sighed.

            "Well, let's write back to James," Arabella grinned. She seemed excited. Two weeks with Remus in France??!! This was to _die_ for!

*****  
  


            "Well, here's the moment of truth," James said, opening up the letter.

            "You want Lily to go, don't you?" Sirius teased.

            "Hey, when's the wedding Prongs?" Remus sniggered.

            "Hey, that's **my **line!" Sirius protested, looking cross.

            "Shut up. I only like her as a friend, okay? But I will admit – she's really … well, beautiful and pretty nice," James grinned. He finished reading the letter and his chocolate eyes lit up. "Ooh, they said they'd go."

            "Even Arabella?" Remus asked, his eyes hopeful.

            "She said no, she has to work, and she loathes you, Rem," Sirius said, bending over to eye the letter.

            "WHAT?!" Remus said, flabbergasted. He started to turn pale, but then grabbed the letter out of James's hands.

            James nudged Sirius in the ribs. "Moony, Padfoot was joking; she's coming too," James rolled his eyes. "I think you should know by now."

            "Oh, good. I can't believe I fell for another of Sirius' stupid jokes," Remus said, shaking his head sadly while grinning underneath. "Two weeks with her on vacation!"

            Sirius and James sighed together. They could already hear the wedding bells.

*****  
  


            "Oh. My. God. What should I wear? What should I bring?" Arabella panicked, just realizing she was going to spend two weeks with her boyfriend. "TWO weeks with Remus! I need TWO weeks of robes and accessories!"

            "Calm down, Bell! CALM DOWN!" Lily said reassuringly. "Breathe, Bella… breathe…" Lily was making breathing hand motions to Arabella.

            Arabella took deep breaths and calmed down.

            "Now, this is what we'll do, okay? We'll go to Diagon Alley for some accessories and robes," Lily said and Arabella smiled. "Then we'll go shop in London for Muggle clothes – they're really quite fashionable and pretty these days, you know."

            Arabella cracked a grin and swooped down to give Lily a huge hug. "What would I do without you, Lils?"

            "Hm, I really don't know," Lily said, pursing her lips as if in deep thought. "You'd probably die of panicking." Lily grinned while getting her bag. 

            "Are we going now?" Arabella asked.

            "Nothing better to do," Lily shrugged, grabbing her purse.

*****  
  


            "Um, how about this one?" Arabella asked, modeling white hip huggers and a sky blue v-neck shirt.

            "Um, twirl around," Lily directed. Arabella obeyed and twirled.

            "So, how is it?" Arabella asked expectantly.

            "Wonderful, it looks great on you. Remus' eyes should pop it when he sees you," Lily grinned wickedly. 

            "Good," Arabella grinned. "I was just going for that. I love this shirt; it just really matches my eyes, don't they? Purple and blue go so well together."

            "Yes, they really do," Lily agreed. She was eyeing the store to see if she'd like anything. Usually, Lily loved shopping, but today, she was tired again, so she felt drained.

            "Ooh, I love this!" Arabella sighed happily. "This week has been the best."

            "I'm happy for you," Lily smiled.

            Arabella went to look through more racks.

            "Don't you think you bought enough? I mean that's like the millionth outfit you bought today," Lily warned. She didn't want Arabella to go bankrupt before their trip!

            "I suppose you're right," Arabella said. She went into the fitting rooms and came out, wearing her regular clothes. They purchased the clothes and left.

            "Aren't you going to buy any new clothes, Lily?" Arabella asked.

            "I don't think so…" Lily said, looking at the ground as they walked through the streets of London. It was quite beautiful since it was spring. Flowers were blooming, birds were chirping, the sky was a wonderful shade of blue. "I think I'll check out the fashions in Paris – the clothes there are _so_ much better than London's."

            "That's because you bought almost all the clothes in London," Arabella snorted. 

            Lily grinned. "I should really start saving again."

            "Perhaps," Arabella agreed. "Then give me the money to fund for my wedding with Remus!"

            Lily laughed. "I thought there was no wedding?"

            Arabella grinned.

*****

            James, Sirius, and Remus apparated to Lily and Arabella's flat.

            "Ready?" Sirius yelled.

            "In a minute!" Lily yelled down to Sirius, and turned to face Arabella. "Okay, Bella, do we have everything packed?"

            Arabella got the list and said, "Clothes, check. Luggage, check. Make-up, check. Skin toners, check. Tooth brush and paste, check. Pictures, check. Camera, check. Money, check. Stationary, Vitamins, Travel Kit. Check, check, check!"  Arabella grinned. "C'mon, Lils. Let's go."

            Both of them grabbed their luggage, which was several cases, to James, Sirius, and Remus.

            "Remus!" Arabella smiled, opening her arms for a hug. They hugged and kissed hello. Lily rolled her eyes and giggled and said 'hi' to James and Sirius.

            "Can you two please stop snogging or get a room? I actually want to go to Paris now!" Sirius said impatiently. 

            "Okay, okay, Padfoot," Remus replied, grinning.

            "So how're we going to get to the airport?" Lily asked.

            "Airport?" James questions, bewildered. "What's that?"

            "Oh, wait. Never mind – Muggle thing," Lily said, shrugging it off. She'd just remembered that they were wizards, and knew nothing of Muggle transportation. She sighed and hoped the method of getting to France wouldn't include Sirius' famous flying motorcycle. "Never mind, so how are we going to get there?"

            "Road trip!" Sirius screamed. He started laughing. "Just kidding. I'm Half, so, Lily, I know all the Muggle things.

            Everyone stared at Sirius.

            Lily smiled. "Thanks," She said. She felt happier because someone on the trip would understand her when she said ordinary Muggle things. Things were definitely starting to look brighter.

            "Anyways, we're getting there by Portkey," James said, staring at Sirius if he was mental. "Seriously, Padfoot – calm down."

            "Portkey to… France?" Lily choked out in a disbelieving tone and raising her eyebrow.

            "Of course," James said and shrugged. "Anything's possible."

            "Not with our luggage," Arabella said, pointing at three suitcases, two duffel bags, five little bags, and a huge box. Lily eyed that each Marauder were holding a little duffel bag. 

            "Whoa! What the hell are you guys bringing to France? It's only two weeks!" Sirius said, his eyes popping out as he saw their luggage.

            "You always have to be prepared," Lily said with a shrug.

            James pulled out two bags from his duffel bag and handed them to Arabella and Lily. "Here," he offered.

            "What're these?" Lily said, taking the bags and eyeing them suspiciously. "One of your jokes?"

            "No, not _these_ bags. They're Stuff-O Bags. Stuff-O Bags have no limit. You can stuff a piano in that," James said.

            "Wow, this is so cool!" Arabella squealed. "Now, go into the living room while we unpack and pack." 

*****  
  


            "Ahh, that's much easier to Portkey with," Sirius smiled. Arabella and Lily were carrying the little bags and grinned back. 

            "Okay, the Portkey is right here," James said, pulling out a large blue phone.

            "A Phone?" Lily asked curiously.

            "The tour people sent it," Sirius replied.

            "Anyways," James said, examining his watch. "It leaves in 10 seconds. Hurry up and grab any part of it!"

            The five some quickly grabbed the phone and felt a jerk at their navel.

 _Whoosh! _

*****

            "Wow," Sirius said, shaking his head slightly. "That was fast and I think I got a head rush from the Portkey."

            "Tell me about it," Lily muttered.

            "That navel jerk was weird," Arabella said.

            "Duh," James replied. "We used a port key."

            The five some arrived in front of a glamorous looking hotel. It looked like castle, part prehistoric Roman building. It was large with many wings, and held up with many white turrets. The walls were made out of a lovely shade of granite. It was a very classy place, with lots of fancy knick-knacks.

            "Wow, this place is breathtakingly beautiful, James," Lily commented exhilaratingly. She started in amazement as the hotel.

            "Breathtakingly cheap, also," James grinned.

            "This is seriously a nice hotel, James," Remus smiled. "Thanks."

            "Yeah, thanks, James," Arabella smiled.

            An escort came up to James. "'Ahr 'oo a Meester Jamie Pottehr?" He asked in a beautiful French accent.

            "Why, yes I am," James replied. "Pleased to meet you, sir."

            "Oh, but 'ze pleazehr is all mine, Monsieur, I'm Pierre," He winked. 

            'Great, they send us a homosexual bellboy,' Lily thought.

            "Anyway, I am 'ere to escourt you to the welcuhm meeting hosted by Mademoiselle Chantelle D'Bour. Please – follow me."

            Everyone followed Pierre into the grand and luxurious hotel. The inside looked quite as magnificent as the outside did. Long, grand staircases were put in select locations inside the hotel's first floor. Pierre led them into a hallway, first door to the left.

            They entered into another magnificently decorated room. A woman in front was lecturing around 10 guests.

            "I can't believe the gay escort hit on you," Sirius snickered.

            "Shut up," James glared. "That wasn't funny."

            "Oh yes it was," Arabella, Remus, and Lily chorused together.

            "Okay, you 'ave all arrived, oui? My name is Chantelle D'Bour – zee monojur ov dees tour of zee booteeful country ov Fronce," a woman in black said. She was a petite woman with perfect curves on her body. She had blue eyes and brown hair and a dazzling smile. Everyone replied 'yes' and she continued. "Okay, ze very first stop on our tour weel  be zee Eiffel Tower, 'ohn ov zee most populehr places in Fronce. We weel veeseet ze Eiffel Tower tomorrow morning aht teen o' clock. Please be on time. Ze tour bus weel defehnetly not wait fehr you."

            "I zink I like zhat wooman," Sirius whispered to James, imitating her accent. 

            James chuckled silently and replied, "I zink I like zhat woman, too! Oui Oui!"

            Lily glared at James and Sirius, putting up an index finger to her lip, indicating 'Shh! Be quiet when someone's talking' sign.

            "Please cuhm up 'ere and geet your 'otel room keeys," Chantelle said, pointing at the table next to her filled with many hotel keys.

            Lily whispered, "James you go." 

            James glanced at Lily, irritated, but went up anyways and grabbed their hotel room cards. Chantelle finished her speech and everyone got up to leave. 

*****

            "James," Lily began slowly. "Why are there two keys?"

            "Oops," James flushed. "I think I accidentally booked only two rooms."

            "Nice going, James," Sirius said, grinning.

            "Well, I'm with Remus," Arabella replied.

            "Fair enough," Sirius said. "I'll room with James and Lily then." 

            "Oh, fine," James said, pouting along with Sirius. James gave Arabella and Remus their card. Then he inserted the key and went in his room, followed by his Lily and Sirius. They all sighed in relief and dropped their bags. It was a very luxurious suite. There were two large queen-sized beds with an abundance of pillows on them. There was one couch, a bathroom, one table with matching chairs, and a television.

            "Ooh, look at that! A medium-sized… black box!" Sirius exclaimed, pointing at the hotel mini-bar resting on the table. 

            "It's a mini-bar, Sirius, a _mini-bar_," Lily said slowly and clearly.

            "A mini-bar, as in a small bar? Alcoholic beverages?" Sirius asked with interest.

            "What do you think?" Lily asked, rolling her eyes.

            Sirius grinned. "I don't think."

            Lily sighed, "Figures. Wow, James, you must be loaded to afford a suite like this." Lily walked around in awe, looking at the suite.

            "If you're impressed with this, you should come and see the Potter mansion," Sirius replied. He sat down on of the beds and started fiddling with the remote to the TV. "By the way, Lils? What's that box?" Sirius pointed to the TV.

            "It's called a television. It's a form of Muggle entertainment," Lily replied.

            "Telleveezun," Sirius said, trying to pronounce it.

            "Tell-uh-vis-yun," Lily said, slowly and clearly. "You can see images of people on it.

            "That's ludicrous," Sirius replied calmly, waving the matter off with his hand. "Absolutely crazy."

            "Oh really?" Lily asked, flipping the switch. The television turned onto the news.

            "WOW!" Sirius exclaimed, amazing. He rushed up to the television and stared.

            Lily rolled her eyes. "So what do you guys want to do?"

            "I dunno," James replied dully. "I think a game of Truth or Dare is in order."

            "Truth or Dare?" Lily questioned.

            "No, let's make it _strip_ Truth or Dare," Sirius grinned evilly, turning his attention away from the Muggle 'box' and to his friends.

            "Strip Truth or Dare?" Lily questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

            James shrugged. "Nothing else better to do."

            "Alright then…" Lily agreed, still a bit hesitant. 'What am I getting myself into?' She thought as they arranged their places in a circle.

*****

A/N: Wow, this chapter is LONG! 10 Pages on MS Word! Wow, that's **long**. :) I hope you enjoyed it. Read + review, please!


	4. An Innocent Game of Strip Truth or Dare…

A/N: Hey hey ^_^ Another update, heheh. I'm sorry I left all of you on a cliffy – But no fear, the next chapter is here!! … Okay. How gay was that? Hahah, okay, have fun enjoying the next chapter and leave a review! ^_-

**After All These Years__**

_Chapter Four – An Innocent Game of Strip Truth or Dare…_

            Sirius rubbed his hands in excitement. This is going to be _good_! "Okay, Lily. Truth or Dare?" Sirius asked.

            Lily paused for a second and thought wisely. She'd be insane if she said dare, especially with Sirius asking the question, so she stuck with the safe choice.. . "Truth." Lily grinned.

            Sirius did a little huddle with James.

            "Okay," James grinned. "Have you ever had sex?"

            "No comment," Lily said and took off her shoes.

            "Aw, come on, don't be such a wuss," Sirius moaned sadly. "Taking off your shoes? Psh!"

            Lily rolled her eyes. "Okay, erm… Sirius! Truth or Dare?" She asked devilishly with a twinkle in her eye. _Choose Dare…_

"Dare," Sirius replied automatically. Lily wouldn't make him do something _that_ bad… would she?

            "Okay," Lily said. "I've thought about this long and hard, and now I can finally watch you perform it. Take off all your clothes, stick your head in the toilet, slush it around, run around the hotel naked yelling 'Monkeys steal my underwear when I sleep!'! Easy, huh?" Lily grinned and folded her arms across her chest.

            Sirius's mouth dropped open. "Oh puh-**leez**! That is child's work. This is easy!" Sirius exclaimed. "This is why I'm the **king** of Truth or Dare. Well, actually the Dare part."

            "Oh yes," Lily added. "I forgot something – you have to sneak into the room next to ours and steal Mrs. Bounder's bra or the helpdesk clerk's." Mrs. Bounder was a rather large lady that disapproved of James and Sirius's pranks and had tagged along with them during the trip. Only recently had she revealed herself to them.

            "Okay, now, that is just … **mean**," Sirius said. "It's Mrs. Bounder, dammit."

            "Either that… or remove your boxers," Lily winked. "Either way, you're going to be naked."

            Sirius sighed. "Fine, I'll do it."

            "Do us a favor and please remove your clothes outside, okay?" James said, shuddering at the thought of his best friend naked. "I don't really want to see you naked, no offense."

            "Well, then, if Sirius does that, how will we know he's naked?" Lily asked. "We need some proof. It's not like I want to see him naked, I just want to make him suffer. That's the point of a dare."

            "Haha, Lily, I know you want to see my naked. You don't have to make up those silly excuses. It's all right though, just make sure you don't faint from all the sex waves my ass gives off, okay?" Sirius asked. They laughed.

            Sirius faced the door and removed his boxers. "Happy now?"

            Lily nodded and grinned. This was going to be _way_ too good! Sirius covered his… parts and went to the bathroom. Everyone heard a deep breath and sounds of clothes being removed. He came out, still covering his… parts, and his hair wet, with drops of water that's been who knows where, dripping down his drenched, black hair. He grinned and raced out the door.

            "He seriously has problems," Lily said, shaking her head as Sirius slammed the door shut. Shouts of 'Monkeys steal my underwear when I'm sleeping!' echoed throughout the hall while everyone just bursts into peals of laughter.

            "That's Sirius," James said, chuckling. "He's always up for a dare."

            "Yeah," Lily agreed, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Gotta love that. Hm, should we have asked Remus and Arabella to come and play with us?"

            "Nah, they're probably having fun themselves," James grinned.

            Lily grimaced. "Pervert."

            "Thank you, thank you," James said, bowing.

            Lily rolled her eyes. "I really don't think that's something you should be proud of?"

            "Why not?" James protested. "I've worked very hard all of my life just for that kind of recognition from girls, you know. And all sorts of other kinds of recognition, too, if you know what I mean." He winked.

            Lily grimaced and rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I believe it's your turn. I'll ask for Sirius," Lily said, changing the subject.

            James thought about this hard. Would Lily give him a dare like she gave Sirius? Damn, this was confusing. "Truth," James replied. He did _not_ want to dip his perfect hair into a toilet.

            "Okay…" Lily pursed her lips. "Are _you_ a virgin?"

            James grinned. "I don't kiss and tell, Lily," He replied and took off his shirt. Lily's mouth dropped to the floor. His chest was chiseled so beautifully. He had abs and a great six-pack going. Lily practically drooled, but stopped herself. This was **James**… James Potter! Her best friend's boyfriend's best friend. (What a chain!) She couldn't like him. Lily started wondering if James was really a virgin or not…

            "Lily, are you okay?" James asked, laughing a little. "You look like you want to eat me. Is my body really that banging?"

            Lily glared and closed her wide-open mouth. "Shut up, Potter," She glared at him.

            James laughed heartily, making his dimples show and Lily to melt inside. "All right, truth or dare?"

            Lily thought for a while. She was feeling a little adventurous… "Dare," She grinned.

            "Hmm, too bad I just thought of another inappropriate question to ask you," James said, grinning then thinking hard. A sparkle in his eye formed. "Kiss me, Lily."

            "What?" Lily said, looking at James as if he'd gone mad.

            "Kiss me," James replied simply. "Put your lips on mine and then maybe we can-"

            "I know what it means," Lily interrupted, stating the obvious. "Why would you want me to kiss you?"

            "Because it's funny watching your freak out," James laughed and pointed at Lily. He knew it wasn't the truth, he just wanted to see how it'd feel like. Would there be a spark or no? It was driving him crazy. "So, you chickened out and I guess _you_ have to take off one piece of your clothing now." He rubbed his hands in excitement. "Ooh, this is going to get interesting."

            "Shut up," Lily glared, taking off her socks. "There, my socks are gone." She smiled smugly to herself.

            "Oh, gosh darn it!" James said, snapping his fingers. "You are such a daredevil, Lily! Taking off _both_ your socks. _Wow_!"

            Lily laughed. "I know I am; no need to be jealous, Mr. Potter."

            "Anyways, since you rejected my dare, let's just kiss anyways… for the fun of it," James grinned, his eyes twinkling.

            "No, that'd be so weird," Lily replied. She wanted to kiss him too. He looked so irresistible.

            "Would it?" James murmured.

            "Yes," Lily replied shakily.

            "Oh god, that was amazing!" Sirius yelled as he entered the room, wearing Mrs. Bounder's bra over his masculine chest. "I've never felt so vigorous in my life!"

            "You also didn't smell this bad since that one time where you didn't shower for a week," James replied, holding a nose.

            Thank god for Sirius's dramatic entrance, or else the tension between Lily and James would've been so awkward. "Ew, Sirius, that's gross," Lily said.

            "Not really," he shrugged. "Now, excuse me, because thanks to a certain _someone_," and at this point he looked at Lily with a twitching eye, "I have who-knows-what gunk from the toilet drenched all over me and I must shower. Good day."

            Lily laughed. Sirius was so delightfully weird, yet funny at the same time.

            "Bye Padfoot," James replied, grinning. His best friend… he could be such a kook sometimes.

            "Padfoot?" Lily asked curiously. "What an interesting nickname! Are you two lovers, or what?"

            James laughed. "Oh, Gods no! It's just our nicknames for each other from when we were little. I called him Padfoot since he liked dogs so much… and with that shaggy hair, he kind of resembles a dog, don't you think?" James tilted his head sideways, waiting for Lily's answer.

            "Yeah, he does, kind of," Lily agreed. "How interesting."

            "Yeah," James said. Damn.. the conversation was dying out. "Well, it's your turn."

            "Truth or Dare?" Lily asked, looking bored.

            "Dare!" James replied. "Give me your best, Evans."

            "Now I dare _you_ to kiss _me_," Lily grinned triumphantly, folding her arms over her chest.

****

            Aah, sorry for this short chapter!! Lily and James had some sort of… _connection_ there, huh? J Well please review… I think I'll be finishing this story in another chapter or two... and whatever happened to Sirius?!

            Sorry for this delayed chapter, but I couldn't log into my fanfiction.net account! :( The URL was… broken, I guess.


	5. Daredevils and… a Proposal?

**After All These Years**

_Chapter Five – Daredevils and… a Proposal!?_

            "What?" James asked, his eyes growing wide. "You… me?" He started mumbling incoherent words.

            "Kiss me," Lily replied simply and shot him a tantalizing look. She smiled, with a touch of evilness, loving the effect she had on James.

            "No, Evans," He replied, smirking and gaining composure. "I know you want me, but I'm just going to dangle the bait in front of you." He took off his socks.

            "Oh, look, _now_ who's adventurous? Taking off your socks? Absolutely raunching! What are you going to do next, James? Shoot yourself out of a cannonball? Swim in a tank alongside sharks, perhaps?" Lily asked sarcastically. 

            He grinned. "Daredevil is my middle name! Anyways, let's go find Arabella and Remus… I wonder what they're up to."

            "You're right," Lily replied. "I'm getting worried."

            "Yeah, you're right, do they have protection?" James joked and cracked a grin.

            "James!" Lily cried, looking offended and playfully slapped him.

            "What? It's true!" James replied indignantly.

            Lily rolled her eyes. "Let's go find him," She said, grabbing his arm and leading him out their door and in front of theirs.

            "Are you guys **ever** gonna be done in there?!" James patiently yelled through the door. "It's really boring outside!"

            "Hold your horses, James!" A muffled voice replied.

            "What **are** they doing in there?!" Lily giggled.

            "I don't want to know," James replied darkly.

            "I don't think I do either," Lily agreed.

            "Come on, let's go on a walk then and leave the lovers alone," James said, grabbing her hand and running with her to the end of the hall.

            Lily laughed. "Thanks for the run."

            "You're welcome," James replied, bowing. "It was my pleasure."

            "Mm, charming," Lily commented.

            "So… what caused you to change yourself?" James finally asked. He really wondered why Lily wanted to change.

            "Change?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

            "Well, you're so different from when we were Head students," James shrugged. "I just want to know what happened…"

            "Okay, I lost some weight and 'blossomed'," Lily shrugged. "Is that that _drastic_? People change, you know, James, **people change**."

            "Oh," James replied, at a loss for words. "All right then."

            "Sorry for being short," Lily replied. "It's just I hate it when people think it's so drastic for me to change. It just… annoys me."

            "Yeah, I guess I can understand," James replied sympathetically.

            "Thanks," Lily said, cracking a small smile. She opened her arms for a hug and James gladly accepted. The electricity flowing through them was amazing.

            'Seize the moment, seize the moment!' A voice yelled through James's head. And he seize the moment he did because he leaned down and gave Lily Evans the best kiss he could muster.

            The only shocking part was the aftermath – James was left there, a slap on his cheek, looking confused and lost.

***

            "Lily!" James yelled. The blob of red in front of him turned around, revealing Lily Evans, sweating a bit.

            "Hey," James said calmly. "Why'd you run out? Are my kissing skills too good?" James said, chuckling a bit, blowing off some imaginary dust.

            Lily looked unsure.  "Not really? It's just that that kiss… it was so…"

            "Weird?" James finished for her. "Yeah, I know. And that slap wasn't so nice, either."

            "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Lily wailed. "It's just I freaked out and I didn't know what to do! I'm sorry, it was… lovely, but it's just so weird – I don't do this with guy friends!"

            "Oh," James said slowly. "It's okay… as long as… there are no hard feelings then? I'm sorry for making a move on you. I didn't know you'd be _that_ uncomfortable."

            "Well, yeah," Lily admitted. "I didn't know either." She let out a dry chuckle. "Didn't think this night would end like this."

            "Well, it wasn't a picnic for me either," James said. "You know what? Let's just forget about the kissing thing, okay? We are in **France**, one of the most beautiful cities in the world! Let's enjoy ourselves tonight, all right?"

            "And to enjoy ourselves meaning we raid the mini bar and order alchoholic drinks?" Lily supplied suggestively.

            "Love to," James replied as he stuck out his arm.

            Lily smiled and hooked her arm with the crook of his elbow.

***

            "Remus," Arabella started breathlessly. "That was amazing."

            "It really was, wasn't it?" Remus mused, smiling faintly. "I love you." He took a swig of his martini.

            "I… I love you too," Arabella replied, looking dazed. "God, life is just simply fantastic right now – if I could, I'd just want to freeze this moment in time and stay this way forever. Screw England, screw my job, screw the friends!" She held up her vodka bottle up with his. "Cheers." She grinned.

            Remus smiled back, savoring the moment. "I know exactly what you mean – I feel like my life has been fulfilled… well, except for one thing."

            "And what is that?" Arabella asked curiously.

            "Well, ever since I was a young boy, I was restricted from things the other boys could do… well, because of my… 'state' and I always felt so left out. I always felt like I was the mommy's boy and that I could never have a chance at a regular life. I felt I was always underprivileged and handicapped. I've just always wanted to prove the people who look down on me wrong. I want to show them there is just so much more to me than being a werewolf. I've just wanted to do something…"

            "Own the Wimbourne Wasps?" Arabella suggested.

            "Other than _that_."

            "No bloody idea."

            "I've always wanted to do something… crazy. Something out of the ordinary… something that some ordinary person would never think or even _dream _of doing! Just to get those people back – the ones who doubted me, that's who," Remus replied looking determined, but his look changed to melancholy. "But I've always thought to myself it'll never come true."

            "Sure it can!?" Arabella said, looking excited. "There are _tons_ of crazy stuff that we can do that can satisfy you."

            "Oh my god," Remus said, looking convinced. "I have **got** it."

            "What? What is it!" Arabella exclaimed.

            "Let's move to France," Remus replied seriously. "Let's do it! I really think we should!"

            "Really?" Arabella asked unsurely. "Is that what you want? Or has all the vodka gotten to you?"

            "Really," Remus replied firmly.

            "But Remus," Arabella said, starting to examine the situation. "It'd be so complicated – I love living in England… plus, I don't want to lose my job **or** lose Lily! Maybe if it was in the future and we were married or something…"

            "Oh my god!" Remus exclaimed. "We should get married!"

            Arabella shot him a look. "You won't even move in with me, now you want to get married?"

            "Yes!" Remus exclaimed, looking like he had just won the lottery. "It's be amazing! I love you, you love me – let's just speed things up!"

            Perhaps it was the effects of alcohol that was getting to Arabella because in a woozy tone, she said – "I'd love to, darling."

            "Then it's settled, we'll make our way to the chapel right now," Remus replied.

***

            "Wow, this is just so beautiful," Arabella commented on the chapel. "Everything is so lovely and intricate." She looked around avidly.

            "Yes, I know," Remus replied, smiling. "This will be wonderful, darling, absolutely wond-" Before Remus could finish his sentence, through the chapel doors burst out two figures in an unruly and wild manner. It was the last two people in the world Remus and Arabella would expect – their very own Lily and James.

            "Hello Mr. Lily!" Lily shrieked out wildly and laughed shrilly. Her laughter filled the halls.

            "Why, hello Mrs. James!" James exclaimed back.

            "Catch this!" Lily shrieked again, throwing her bouquet made of… well, lilies. She was laughing like a madwoman.

            "Ooh, I caught it!" James shrieked. "This is absolutely wun-dah-ful! Tralalala…"

            And with that ending note, both of them exited the chapel.

            "What.. the.. hell.. just.. happened.." Remus exclaimed, running his hands through his hair.

            "No bloody fucking idea," Arabella replied. 

***

_A/N: Sorry for the short chapter and rough ending. Yikes, sorry. All will be revealed in good time, m'love :). BTW, for those of you avid **Friends** fans, yes, I stole the idea from Season 5 finale – "The one in Vegas". Mm, things will be solved somewhat like Friends with an interesting ploy on it – by ME! :)_

_Well, now, please go review… I still can't believe this story has been up since 2001! =) Leave a praise, flame, or criticism – I take 'em all._

_Lots of Love,_

_3 Angeline_

_PS: Feel free to IM me on MSN or Y!M anytime – I love to talk and meet new people._


	6. Reality's a pain in everyone's ass

**After All These Years**

_Chapter Six – Reality's a pain in everyone's ass_

After what had happened that night in the chapel that very night, reality smacked some sense into everyone, bit by bit. Remus and Arabella both knew it was too early to get married - what were they thinking? They hardly knew each other. The sheer realness of the situation had sunk in and they were the first to realize it and be victimized.

Lily and James, however, were a different story. After being married, they drunk and drunk 'til the wee hours of the night in their new honeymoon suite. Of course, when they woke up, it wasn't _quite_ as much fun as they had last night.

"Mm," Lily moaned sleepily, tossing and turning, waking up surrealy from unconsciousness.

"Rrgh," James replied, also deep in unconsciousness.

They both woke up and everything started to come to them, piece by piece... everything all came running and screaming loudly back to them. The events of last night folded chronologically in their heads as they winced in realizing they had done the ultimate mistake -- getting married.

"Fuck," Lily cursed, as soon as she remembered. "My head hurts like hell."

"I hope that's not the only reason you're swearing," James replied, groaning, reaching for his wand and muttering a few words. "Remember what happened last night?"

"Of course I remember what happened last night," Lily snapped, rubbing her temples in vain, hoping the hangover and this nightmare would go away and she'd wake up any second, free of any troubles. "It all just came fuckin' screaming back to me."

"Well, honey, it wasn't too good for me either," James replied sarcastically. "Come here, I have a hangover spell that works like a charm."

"Nice choice of words since spells are almost exactly like charms," Lily answered icily.

"Fine, I guess you don't need it," James said, turning away, and putting back his wand.

"Okay, okay, sorry," Lily said quickly. "I didn't mean it. It's just... we got _married_?!"

"Yeah, I know," James sighed, reaching for his wand and muttering the spell, "this'll be something the grandkids will be hearing."

"We're not... going to stay married, are we?" Lily asked cautiously, tucking a loose tendril behind her ear. "I was thinking of getting an anullment. I mean... we were pretty intoxicated while saying our 'I do's."

"No, of course we weren't going to stay married," James said, "And, yeah, I think an anullment will be our best bet."

"I really thought my first time getting married was going to be special, too," Lily sighed forlornly. "So much for _that_ dream."

"Hey," James said. "That can still happen. We'll _get_ the anullment; this isn't real. Your first time will be with someone you love and that someone will love you back. Trust me, Lily. Plus, I thought it was pretty fun, even though it doesn't really 'count'."

Lily smiled. "Yeah, it was fun... but I can't help it was partly _your_ fault." She raised an eyebrow.

"Me? Seriously?" James asked, indignant.

"Oh, let's not forget someone's Hogwarts record of most mayhem-making and racking up most detentions ever... has that silly little boy actually matured into a serious, emotional man now?" Lily teased.

James rolled his eyes. "I am so beyond pranking now. It's not that fun anymore since I don't live with that many people in such close quarters. I miss Hogwarts."

The conversation turned quiet.

"So do I."

"Ignorance really is bliss, isn't it?" James asked.

"I'm afraid so, m'dear.. I'm afraid so."

- - -

"So, what now?" Remus asked, breaking the silence. It was the next morning of the night before. Arabella and him had relentlessly gone to bed, failing to find Lily and James after searching for them for the majority of the night. They went to bed, side by side, feeling awkward and unsure of how to handle the situation. Both of them hardly got any sleep last night, each trying to think up a solution to their seemingly un-fixable problem.

They both tossed and turned repeatedly, also wondering if the other was asleep or not. Deep down, they knew inside that both of them were awake and feeling more alive than ever, but said nothing out loud and didn't want to awake the awkward silence that was already beginning to start to loom around both of them.

The tension in the air was thick but both tried to ignore it.

When morningtime came, Remus watched Arabella sleep peacefully. He smiled at her sadly, knowing both of them would have to end sooner or later. He left the room, not wanting to be there when she awoke. He went outside and enjoyed the sights -- mainly the Eiffel Tower. He'd come to France looking for romance with Arabella... was this what he bargained for?

When he finally returned from his morning stroll, Arabella was sitting on the bed, folding her clothes.

"I thought I should pack," she said, explaining. "After all, we should be leaving soon."

"Um, yeah," Remus replied awkwardly. "Good idea."

He really didn't know what to say. He was purely perplexed at human emotion -- last night he felt like he wanted to marry, spoil, and spent the rest of his life with this woman. Now, in the morning, in the clear, bright daylight, all he wanted was to escape, having nothing to say to her. Last night he felt they were in love, but now he felt lucky if they were even still friends. How twistedly ironic human emotion could be sometimes.

"So, now what?" Remus asked, glad he had finally asked the inevitable question that both were dreading to ask. "Where are we going... what does this mean?"

"I... I don't know," Arabella said, trying to turn the broken emotion into words. "After last night... it's like a realization or something... I mean, we don't really know each other that well and we rushed in the whole marriage thing, right?"

"Yeah, we did," Remus agreed, nodding. "I guess... I'm really not ready yet, and..."

"And?" Arabella asked.

Remus breathed. "I think we should take a break."

Arabella exhaled slowly.

"To rethink some things over," Remus said quickly, trying his best to make the situation sound better... but he knew he couldn't no matter how hard he tried to sugarcoat things. "We rushed into this too quick and I think we need some time to cool down."

Arabella's eyes brightened slightly. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I think I'm up for it, just promise me one thing."

"What?"

Arabella smiled sadly. "Don't let it be too long."

Remus covered her small hand with his and hugged her meaningfully. "I won't," he whispered soothingly into her ear as she bit her lip and closed her eyes in sadness.

- - -

Sirius was perplexed why everyone suddenly wanted to go home. He thought they were all having a _smashingly _good time in Paris, why stop all the fun? He declared that there were party poops was what they were. Plus, to him, everyone seemed really aggravated and annoyed with each other. What _happened_ last night, he wondered to himself. He totally couldn't remember anything except being stark naked in front of that _sexy_ French blonde... then... well, yeah.

"God, I can't believe you guys are ruining my vacation," Sirius replied aggravatedly as he boarded the plane. "Total annihalation of my free time."

"Your free time from _what_?" James scoffed. "Building your motorcycle?"

"That does take work and lots of mental brain power, Prongs," Sirius pointed out scathingly. "Something you're obviously missing."

"Gee, thanks, Sirius love," James commented dryly. "Glad I have _your_ support if I want to win a Nobel prize."

Sirius smiled lovingly at James. "You have all my support in the world, _love_."

"Although I would love to see you two start flirting in a hopefully _joking_ manner, you're holding up the line," Lily pointed out curtly. "So could you please scoot because others are here to check in the gate?"

Because of their sudden decision to leave and ditch the tour group, they had to take the Muggle way back to London -- by plane.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "It's not like people ruined _your_ vacation."

Lily raised one right back at him. "People _did_ ruin my vacation."

"Feisty."

"Raunching."

"Ahh... smart ass."

"Move."

"Fine."

"I win," Lily declared proudly.

"Won _what_? Was there a game or something?" James asked irratably.

Lily glared.

_Everyone_ was annoyed at each other.

And what a loooooooong flight it was going to be!

- - -

A/N: After such comedic chapters, I thought it was time for some seriousness involved in the story. This isn't really going the way I expected it to be, so I'm on a writer's block which explains WHY I am so late with this chapter. I am so, so late. And I really blame myself. I'm going to finish all my stories (except for Veni Vici Dormivi and Revelations of Destiny) and see if I'm up for anything else. I feel like re-writing this whole story, I'm just unsatisfied with it. I don't know why. Thanks for reading, you all are amazing and great. 6 months without updating... I suck big time... and it was short too. Expect a re-write soon. Homework is weighing me down and I'm off to write more of "How to lose..."

Lots of love,

Angeline


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